It's Better this Way
by JanEyrEvanescence12
Summary: One shot set during Casino Royale. Vesper was forced to make a choice between duty and death. Now facing her own death, she reflects on her fate…Yusef x Vesper x James


It's Better this Way

**A/N: **All my usual disclaimers, all copyrights go to those who rightfully own them.

My dad and brother (both of whom are huge James Bond geeks, I may add) didn't like _Quantum of Solace _and one of the biggest complaints they had was of the Puccini opera _Tosca_ being involved. Well, after watching _Quantum_ and listening to _Tosca_, I can say that the filmmakers made an excellent choice.

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, _Tosca_ is the story about a beautiful singer (Tosca) who is told by an evil chief of police (Scarpia) that if she doesn't become his mistress and betray an escaped political prisoner (Angelotti), her painter boyfriend (Mario) will be tortured and executed. Like Vesper, Tosca does submit and meets a tragic fate.

The inspiration for this piece is _Vissi D'Arte_, one of the showpieces from _Tosca_. The title character sings it during in the second act after being presented with the ultimatum. Translating as "I Lived for Art" it's a beautiful and moving aria, definitely recommend it. I thought it would be an appropriate thought for Vesper to have during the final moments of her life.

With that said, enjoy and destroy!

* * *

I lived for art…I lived for love.

That was two lines in that opera Yusef had taken her to see when they holidayed in Austria. Hearing the singer's sad rendition of the line made Vesper tear up and grip Yusef's hand tightly. Even now, that line still haunts her.

_Tosca_. That was the name of the opera. How appropriate that she's thinking about it now. The opera of a woman forced to betray her political beliefs to save the man she loved. She hurled herself from a tower when she realized she had been betrayed.

Now she's underwater, locked in that elevator cage and waiting for it all to end. Oh, she knows James is going to try and save her. She saw it in his face when she locked the doors. Disbelief. Fear. Anger. Love.

But she can't subject him. Not to her shame. If she lived and he found out what she did …after she died, once he learned the truth about her, he'd forget her soon enough. She could even see him making a cold quip to his superior about her, the first sign of moving forward.

That's cold comfort though.

When she got that note from Quantum two months ago, informing them that they had Yusef and that they'd kill him if she didn't help them, she didn't hesitate. Wiring skimmed funds. Volunteering for the mission in Montenegro. Spying on and distracting James. Hell, even allowing herself to get kidnapped and nearly killed.

All for Yusef. All to save that man with the shiny brown eyes and curly black hair. All to save the man who made her laugh.

For she was sure he would do the same for her if the roles were reversed.

But from there, it all went wrong.

She never expected to fall in love with James.

It was hard not to. That sarcastic and arrogant shell that covered him was just that. A shell. Inside was a sensitive and caring individual. In a way, he was just like Yusef.

But he gave her something that others hadn't. Not even Yusef. The sense of being valued as a person. Even during their time together, she sensed that her boyfriend was hiding something from her. Probably another woman. Ironic that despite being a spy, James was relatively honest with her.

She realized she was falling for him in the shower. When he kissed her fingers clean of the blood and turned up the water because she was cold. Vesper saw it in his ice blue eyes. He was concerned for her and wanted to keep her warm and safe.

She nearly lost James in front of her. When he ran out after being poisoned, her heart was pounding. How she wanted to scream when she found him lying in his car, dying. She wanted even to cry when she activated the defibrillator and he came to. But in relief that he was ok.

She was dragged into one room while Le Chiffre remained in the other with the badly injured James. They didn't do anything to her. They just had her listen to James screaming. The sound ripped through her, tearing her soul to pieces. But she could hear him making jokes. His quips made her laugh despite the situation. Because it reassured her that he was staying in control.

How she wished she had his strength. When they showed the photograph of Yusef's mangled body as it had been fished out of the bay, she felt her heart shatter. They told her that it was because of her attempt to save James after he was poisoned that her beloved Yusef was killed.

They told her that she had only one chance to save James' life. Desperate to not lose another like she lost Yusef, she agreed. It was because of her that Yusef was dead. He would've told her to give in, to not have the blood of another man's life on her hands.

How she hoped that they had pity on her and let her be. She and James were beginning a new life together. He had surprised her the night before by telling her he had resigned from MI6. They had even begun talking about going around the world together. With her job as an accountant, she could be hired at any company. Bean counters rule the world indeed.

Yet when she saw the man in the marketplace…she knew her time was up. The life she had hoped for was ripped away before it could properly begin. Even if she survived, she'd have to face the law. Her job would be gone and long years in prison awaited her. She would get pulled through the wringer and her sins laid bare before James.

That was the worst part of it all. Seeing James' face when he learns what she's done.

She could take prison, but not the inevitable pain James would endure afterwards.

It isn't fair, Vesper muses as James begins pulling on the cage door. She wasn't perfect and had made her share of damned mistakes. But why did she have to go through this? Why did she have to fall for two men who got endangered by Quantum?

It doesn't matter though. She thinks sadly, resigning herself to her fate. What was done couldn't be undone.

James begins screaming at her to open the door. No. She thinks as she kisses his fingers. It's better this way.

Her lungs can't hold anymore. They burst and she inhales. Water rushes in, filling her with pain. But she can't bring herself to open the doors.

After all, she thinks as darkness surrounds her and she remembers the soprano's heartbroken song of betrayal and abandonment.

It's better this way.


End file.
